The rubber-stamping committee: MPs fail to ask CS nominees solid questions

Vetting of President William Ruto's Cabinet nominees, which started on Tuesday, is turning out to be a farce, with many Kenyans raising concerns over how members of the National Assembly's Committee on Appointment are not asking the nominees solid, follow-up questions.

The vetting committee is letting the Cabinet Secretary nominees get away with serious issues that the public needs to know about. Many questions lack depth and the legislators seem reluctant to ask follow-up questions that can help the public know the candidates better.

Here is how the vetting committee has so far failed Kenyans:

Debrah Mulongo Barasa - Health

Despite the nominee for health docket, Debrah Mulongo Barasa, having no definite answer to questions she was asked and had to reply she would use a “consultative approach”, the vetting committee failed to dig deeper into why her answers were not definite.

Barasa responded that she would use a “consultative approach” to almost every question posed to her. She was faced with many questions but the only answer she could often give was: “It is going to be a consultative approach”.

Health Cabinet Secretary nominee Debra Mulongo Barasa during her vetting before the National Assembly's Committee on Appointments on August 1, 2024. (Photo: National Assembly)

"How would you deal with the gaps facing the shift from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF)?"

Her response to this question was, "My approach is a consultative one. It is critical to bring all stakeholders together. We also need to involve the community and ensure they are well-informed," she said.

Soipan Tuya - Defence

For Defence Cabinet Secretary nominee Soipan Tuya, her responses were almost the same as those of Barasa, saying that she would consult on various issues put to her.

When asked how she would lead the ministry yet she has no known background in the military or police matters, she pledged to consult widely if appointed.

Defence CS nominee Roselinda Soipan Tuya appearing before MPs for vetting. (Photo: National Assembly)

Tuya said that although she has no military background, the Ministry of Defence has both a uniformed unit and a civilian unit.

“I have a lot of learning to do in terms of military operations, and administration. I am also very consultative in my leadership philosophy and these are skill sets that I will have to employ heavily in terms of the need to understand the operational and administrative role of the uniformed side of the ministry,” she said.

Alice Wahome - Lands

Despite Lands Cabinet Secretary nominee Alice Wahome having a hard time explaining her former office’s relationship with the National Land Commission (NLC), the question of her ability to forge teamwork never came to the fore.

The committee chaired by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula challenged her over claims that she has never held a formal meeting with NLC commissioners.

She was also put to task over the proposal for a levy on freehold land when she was at the helm of the ministry. Concerned MPs warned that ancestral land should not be converted into leasehold without robust public participation.

Land CS nominee Alice Wahome during the vetting at the National Assembly.

“I want to assure this vetting committee that I have no problems with NLC. I have met with the chairperson and commissioners several times. However, I must admit that the commission faces challenges that may affect its mandate,” said Wahome.

Suna East MP Junet Mohammed argued that it was public knowledge that her office sought to usurp the powers of the NLC.

Then came a moment when Wetang’ula asked Wahome to state her net worth. She took some time to respond, prompting the Speaker to wonder if she did not know her worth and had to refer to documents.

Kithure Kindiki- Interior

When the Cabinet nominee for Interior Kindiki Kithure was taken to task on why he uses harsh words like “I will crush you”, which borders on threats, to communicate to Kenyans, he replied that this is police language which he termed as unique and only meant for criminals.

“Mr Speaker, this is a security language and the people I address when I use such terminologies are not the law-abiding citizens of Kenya. The people I address with those difficult or unique terminologies are terrorists, bandits and organised criminals. Those are the people I tell ‘we will crush you’, and I mean it,” he said.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Nominee, Prof. Kithure Kindiki before the Committee on Appointment at the County Hall, Mini-Chamber on August 1, 2028. (Photo: Kithure Kindiki)

He was, however, not put to task on why he failed to ensure that those he referred to as criminals have not been arrested and charged during his tenure.

Kindiki was also confronted by the ghost killings of protesters by police during the Gen Z demonstrations.

He openly declined to take responsibility for incidents of police brutality, laying blame on the National Police Service (NPS), whose conduct during the protests he would praise.

"Ministers don't instruct operations. They instruct policy. I can only resign if my policy instruction is unconstitutional," Kindiki told the committee, even as he promised to hold accountable overbearing officers if reappointed to the Interior ministry.

Julius Migos Ogamba - Education

In the Education docket, it was a field day for CS nominee Julius Migos Ogamba who, despite being set to head a ministry with glaring challenges of funding, policy gaps and corruption, walked out of the vetting room unscratched.

Ogamba told the vetting panel that if approved, he might consider a hybrid system where some students would attend classes in nearby secondary schools.

Education CS nominee Julius Ogamba during his vetting before the National Assembly's Committee on Appointments on August 1, 2024. (Photo: Handout)

He, however, said the current plan to retain junior secondary schools in primary schools will remain. But Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah challenged the hybrid model, arguing it lacks flexibility.

The committee failed to thoroughly probe Ogamba further on these and other outstanding problems bedevilling Kenya’s education sector.

Andrew Karanja - Agriculture

For the Agriculture CS nominee Andrew Karanja, questions on how he will deal with the theft of public funds in the corruption-haunted docket were never answered exhaustively.

For instance, when asked about the controversial food production project in the Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme, he answered that he would evaluate its viability to ascertain if the government should go ahead with implementing it.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Andrew Karanja before the National Assembly's Committee on Appointments on August 2, 2024. (Photo: National Assembly)

“I will plan an evaluation to see if the project is working or not. I have worked on projects such as these before. Therefore, we will do an analysis if I am approved,” said Karanja.

The vetting committee also failed to ask which specific strategies the nominee will put in place to ensure scandals such as the distribution of fake fertiliser do not occur again.

Aden Duale - Environment

For Environment CS nominee Aden Duale, who dismissed claims that high-ranking military officers feared him during his tenure at the Defence Ministry thus occasioning his removal, the vetting committee failed to ask any questions on irregular spending in his former docket as alleged by reports of the Auditor General.

Environment CS nominee Aden Duale arrives in Parliament for vetting on August 2, 2024. (Photo: Aden Duale)

Efforts by parliament to establish how the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spent Ah135 billion have been futile after Duale, during his tenure in the Defence Ministry, declared that revealing such details was a risk to national security, which made him evade accountability.

He refused to give a breakdown of how KDF spent billions in the 2022/2023 financial year when he appeared before the National Assembly’s Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations.